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Cultural Characteristics↗
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[Fly ash and its biological effects. 3. Exposure to dust of workers in the energy-generating industry (power plants and thermoelectric power stations)].
An evaluation of exposure to dust of workers employed at typical work-stands in power industry plants was made. Mean concentrations of respirable dust determined at 14 different work-posts range from 0.45 to 8.95 mg/m3, and of total dust from 1.55 to 85.0 mg/m3. Mean content of free crystalline silica in dust samples is less than 10%. At the work-stands where ash dust was encountered, the presence of respirable fibres at concentration below 0.2 fibre/cm3 was observed. In all ash samples alpha-quartz and mullite were found: in some of them also kaolinite and orthoclase were traced. Only at five out of all 14 work-stands examined mean concentration of respirable dust was lower than the hygienic standard value.
Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
Prospective lung health monitoring in relation to a new power plant.
A new power plant has been in operation in Ashkelon since the end of 1990. In order to record the effect of the environmental changes on lung health, a prospective monitoring system was established during the planning and construction phase of the plant. Data about lung health in the general population as well as the sensitive population (asthma patients) are recorded, and air pollution is monitored by seven monitoring stations located within a 5-25 km radius of the power plant. The lung health monitoring system includes: (1) A record of all visits to the local emergency room. (2) A record of visits to ten representative outpatient clinics related to cardiac and pulmonary symptoms. (3) A close follow-up of 200 asthmatic children enrolled in the local pediatric pulmonary clinic. This includes spirometry four times yearly, an annual winter check-up by a pediatric pulmonologist, and daily symptoms diary filled in by each patient for two weeks after the spirometry. (4) Spirometry and health questionnaires filled out by the parents of the 3600 studied children once in three years. (5) Mortality rate monitoring, relying on the Ministry of Health death registration. This system has been in operation since 1988, collecting base line data; the follow-up is planned to be operating for ten years. A dynamic interaction of the environmental and epidemiological monitoring systems will facilitate more efficient control of the emmissions from the power plant and better protection of the health of the population.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Child↗
14C release from a Soviet-designed pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant.
The Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary runs with four pressurized water reactors, each of 440-MWe capacity. Sampling systems have been developed and used to determine the 14C of various chemical forms (14CO2, 14CO, 14CnHm) in the airborne releases. The average normalized yearly discharge rates for the time period 1988-1991 are equal to 0.77 TBq GWe-1 y-1 for hydrocarbons and 0.05 TBq GWe-1 y-1 for CO2. The contribution of 14CO was less than 0.5% of the total emission. The 14C discharge rate is estimated to be four times higher than the corresponding mean data of Western European pressurized water reactors. The calculated effective dose equivalent to individuals living in the vicinity of the power plant, due to 14C release, was 0.64 microSv in 1991 while the effective dose equivalent due to the natural 14C level was 15 microSv y-1. The long-term global impact of the 14C release in the operational period of the plant (1982-1991) was 1,270 man-Sv. The 14C excess in the environmental air has been measured since 1989 by taking biweekly samples at a distance of 1.7 km from the nuclear power plant. The long-term average of radiocarbon excess coming from the power plant was 2 mBq m-3. The local 14C deposition was followed by tree ring analysis, too. No 14C increase higher than the uncertainty of the measurement (four per thousand = 0.17 mBq m-3) was observed.
Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
Concentrations of Co, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Zn in crop plants cultivated in the vicinity of coal-fired power plants.
In order to determine the effect of airborne emissions of trace elements (Co, Cd, Cr, Ni and Zn) from coal-fired power plants on the environment, concentrations were determined in different species of agricultural plants from the local environment (1-15 km radius) and compared with the corresponding concentrations in soils and fallout. The spatial distribution of trace elements in the soil over 7 years did not indicate any significant increased exposure to plants. In agricultural soils exposed to particle fallout produced by the combustion of brown coal, the trace element content changes slowly; it may decrease owing to its removal with the harvesting of crop plants and due to an insufficient supply of fertilizers. Particle fallout from local power plants is too small to change significantly the natural distribution pattern of trace elements in soils and in plant tissues. For monitoring purposes attention should be paid to the leaves and roots of sugar beet and oat seeds in the vicinity of coal-fired power plants.
Cadmium↗
Mercury emissions from geothermal power plants.
Geothermal steam used for power production contains significant quantities of volatile mercury. Much of this mercury escapes to the atmosphere as elemental mercury vapor in cooling tower exhausts. Mercury emissions from geothermal power plants, on a per megawatt (electric) basis, are comparable to releases from coal-fired power plants.
Air Pollutants↗
[Occupational radiation exposures during maintenance activities at nuclear power plants].
Occupational exposures at nuclear power plants occur mostly during maintenance activities rather than during routine reactor operation. In this paper, statistical summaries of occupational exposures during routine maintenance activities for the years 1982-84 at nuclear power plants in Japan are presented, including comparison of the exposure levels by reactor type and by plant age. Average annual collective doses per reactor for BWRs and PWRs are 7.30 man-Sv and 2.84 man-Sv, respectively, and 78% and 89% of annual doses are incurred during maintenance activities. Average annual outage days of BWRs and PWRs for routine maintenance are 102 d and 97 d. Annual collective doses per reactor, most of which occur during maintenance activities, usually increase with plant age. Higher collective doses are observed for routine maintenance performed on older reactors as compared to newer reactors, especially in BWRs. Collective doses accrued during respective routine maintenance activities have a significant correlation with duration of maintenance and number of workers involved in maintenance.
Environmental Exposure↗
[Effect of atmospheric pollution from steel plant emissions and the electric power plant "Stalowa Wola" on the levels of various metals in rain water].
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Air Pollutants↗
Effect of thermal power plant emissions on Catharanthus roseus L.
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Air Pollutants↗
Mutagenicity and PAH content of airborn particulates and of fallen dusts from two Hungarian towns and emission samples from aluminum reduction and power plants.
Urban air particulates (suspended particles and settling dust), furthermore dust emitted by a Soderberg aluminum reduction plant and a coal burning power plant from an industrial town, Ajka (30,000 inhabitants) were analysed for PAH content (liquid chromatography) and mutagenicity (Salmonella microsome test). Air particulates from Papa--a town of similar size without considerable heavy industry--and corresponding plant emission from Inota, a third town in the study, served as controls. The dust content and the PAH concentration, as well as the mutagenic potency of the air in Ajka were higher than in Papa. Mutagenicity of the airborne particulates showed a clear seasonality with a winter maximum and a summer minimum in both towns. The mutagenic potency of air correlated well with the air BaP and total PAH content in Ajka, but not in Papa. The amounts of extractable organic material and mutagenic potency as calculated for unit quantity of airborne particulate matter was higher in the Papa samples. Similar differences between the two towns were observed in the case of fallen dust, too. On the basis of examination of emitted dust, it can be stated, that in the mutagenicity of urban air, the aluminum plant emission plays a considerably higher role than the power plant emission, which is the main component of air dust pollution in Ajka.
Air Pollutants↗
Consequences of the nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR), on April 26, 1986, was the first major nuclear power plant accident that resulted in a large-scale fire and subsequent explosions, immediate and delayed deaths of plant operators and emergency service workers, and the radioactive contamination of a significant land area. The release of radioactive material, over a 10-day period, resulted in millions of Soviets, and other Europeans, being exposed to measurable levels of radioactive fallout. Because of the effects of wind and rain, the radioactive nuclide fallout distribution patterns are not well defined, though they appear to be focused in three contiguous Soviet Republics: the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, and the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. Further, because of the many radioactive nuclides (krypton, xenon, cesium, iodine, strontium, plutonium) released by the prolonged fires at Chernobyl, the long-term medical, psychological, social, and economic effects will require careful and prolonged study. Specifically, studies on the medical (leukemia, cancers, thyroid disease) and psychological (reactive depressions, post-traumatic stress disorders, family disorganization) consequences of continued low dose radiation exposure in the affected villages and towns need to be conducted so that a coherent, comprehensive, community-oriented plan may evolve that will not cause those already affected any additional harm and confusion.
Accidents↗
Nuclear power plants and natural populations of Mexican Drosophila.
With the worldwide proliferation of nuclear power plants has come the need to study the biological effects of the operation of the reactors on surrounding populations. We have begun a long-term study of the sibling species Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans in the area of Laguna Verde in the state of Veracruz in Mexico. Laguna Verde, on the Gulf of Mexico about 75 km north of the city of Veracruz, is the location of the country's first nuclear power plant. This plant has not yet gone "on-line." The species have been collected from two sites, one of which is south of the reactor and is in the path of the prevailing north to south wind flow. The other collecting site is west of the plant. The species are being studied for the following: species frequency, desiccation resistance, vagility, proportion of larvae pupating, pupation height, and egg to adult survival after irradiation. To date we have noted both spatial and seasonal differences in a number of these characteristics. The information being gathered will serve as base-line data for monitoring the future operation of the nuclear power plant.
Animals↗
Immunological profiles in workers of a power plant burning coal rich in arsenic content.
A group of 47 male adults working in a thermal power plant burning coal containing 900 to 1,500 g of arsenic per ton dry weight was examined on the blood serum immunoglobulins IgG, IgA and IgM content and levels of acute reactants alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT), alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M), transferrin (TRF), orosomucoid (ORO) ceruloplasmin (CPL), and lysozyme (LYS). Investigations in the control group comprising 27 workers from another power plant in the same district where the coal content of arsenic was more than 10 times lower were analogous. The inter-group differences in means were evaluated by t-test, differences in the association of values by F-test, and the correlations with age and the length of exposure were assessed using the regression analysis method. The differences in mean IgG, IgA, IgM, LYS and A2M levels between the exposed and control groups of workers were insignificant or of borderline significance only. In contrast, differences in TRF, ORO and particularly CPL levels were statistically highly significant, in all instances P less than 0.001. In the control group, persons with abnormal values in at least two immunobiochemical tests used accounted for 3.7%, in the group of the exposed for 51% (P less than 0.002). All these findings, especially the rise in CPL concentration levels in the exposed group are discussed on the background of the rise in cancer mortality rates found previously in this group of power plant workers.
Acute-Phase Proteins↗
Determination of trace organic compounds in effluents from a coal-fired power plant.
Solid and gaseous emissions from a power plant fired with South African coal and maintained at full load (320 MWe) were characterized for their composition in polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and n-alkanes (n-A). 25 n-A (from C12 to C36) and 34 PAH (from naphthalene to coronene) were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Samples were collected in different points of the plant: the bottom hopper of the boiler, the electrostatic precipitator (ESP) hopper and the ductwork system before and after the ESP. The pulverized coal was also analysed by the same procedure in order to find any correlation with the composition of emissions. PAH concentration profiles of the coal and the combustion products, which will be useful for evaluation of environmental impact, were obtained.
Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
Longitudinal study of respiratory conditions among schoolchildren in Israel: interim report of an epidemiological monitoring program in the vicinity of a new coal-fired power plant.
Second and fifth grade schoolchildren living within 19 km of a 1400 megawatt coal-fired power plant were followed-up. The children were first studied in 1980, before the power plant went into operation, and in 1983 after two units were operating. They performed pulmonary function tests (PFT), and their parents filled out American Thoracic Society-National Heart and Lung Institute health questionnaires. In the younger cohort, respiratory symptoms and pneumonia and measles were more common in 1983 than in 1980, while in the older cohort pneumonia and measles showed higher prevalence in 1983 but most respiratory symptoms became less common. Temporal changes in prevalence of respiratory symptoms and diseases and annual increases in PFT within three communities in the region with different expected levels of pollution were analyzed. It appears that effects of age, epidemics, and background variables rather than environmental pollution are responsible for the observed differences.
Age Factors↗
[Whole blood and plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation in power plant repairmen].
Forty-nine workers employed at power plants repairs underwent examinations and tests of: circulatory system, whole blood and plasma viscosity, red cell aggregation, concentration and electrophoretic picture of serum proteins, levels of glucose in blood and cholesterol and beta lipoproteins in serum. Ten per cent of the test workers exhibited slight deviations of the circulatory system. More pronounced changes, as compared to controls, were found in rheological factors: corrected blood and plasma viscosity and red cell aggregation were increased but hematocrit was decreased. Biochemical investigations showed a fall in serum total proteins and albumins and a rise in serum cholesterol and beta lipoproteins.
Adult↗
Mortality and career radiation doses for workers at a commercial nuclear power plant: feasibility study.
Career radiation doses for 8,961 male workers at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) were determined for both utility (n = 4,960) and contractor (n = 4,001) employees. Workers were followed from the time of first employment at CCNPP (including plant construction) to the end of 1984 (mean follow-up = 5.4 y). Plant operation began in 1975. The mean duration of employment was 1.9 y at CCNPP and 3.1 y in the nuclear industry. Career radiation doses were determined from dosimetry records kept by the utility company and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). For all exposed workers, the average career dose was 21 mSv and was higher for contractor (30 mSv) than utility (13 mSv) workers. Career doses were also higher among those employed in the nuclear industry for greater than or equal to 15 y (111 mSv) and among workers classified as health physicists (56 mSv). Cumulative doses of greater than or equal to 50 mSv were received by 12% of the workers; the maximum career dose reported was 470 mSv. The availability of social security numbers for practically all employees facilitated record-linkage methods to determine mortality; 161 deaths were identified. On average the workers experienced mortality from all causes that was 15% less than that of the general population of the U.S., probably due to healthier members of the population being selected for employment. Our investigation demonstrates that historical information is available from which career doses could be constructed and that, in principle, it is feasible to conduct epidemiologic studies of nuclear power plant workers in the U.S. Although difficult, the approach taken could prove useful until such time as a comprehensive registry of U.S. radiation workers is established.
Adult↗
Knowledge and risk perception among nuclear power plant employees.
This is a study of knowledge, risk perception, and attitudes among nuclear power plant employees. A total of 236 persons participated, belonging to 10 different professional groups and working at two Swedish power plants. Job-related radiation risks were judged about average as compared to a number of other risks. On the whole, the participants in the study were satisfied with the measures of safety at work, but there were some exceptions to this rule, especially among those hired for temporary jobs through external contractors. The experience of job-related radiation risks was related to the level of knowledge about radiation and its risks: those who knew less experienced larger risks. General level of anxiety did not correlate with risk perception. The latter was accounted for mainly by perceived radiation risks. Job satisfaction was more strongly related to perceived conventional job risks than to nuclear risks. Risk ratings were related to how subjects defined the concept of risk. Those who stressed consequences as part of their risk definition gave higher risk ratings.
Accidents↗